Friday, September 20, 2013

Ultimate Frisbee Southeast Regionals Makes First Appearance in the River City

Thirty-six teams from across the southeastern United States will make
their way to Decatur for an Ultimate Frisbee competition. Hosted by Huntsville
Ultimate Club, USA Ultimate Southeast Regionals will take place September
28-29, 2013, at the Jack Allen Recreation Complex and Point Mallard Park. The
USA Ultimate sanctioned event is expected to attract men, women, and co-ed
teams from Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas,
and Alabama.

This will be the tournament’s first appearance in Decatur. Previous
tournaments have been held in Orlando, Fla., Austin, Texas, Little Rock, Ark.,
and Atlanta, Ga. Tournament hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and games will
be played on the fields at the Jack Allen Recreation Complex (2616 Modaus Road
SW) and on the Spirit of America fields located in Point Mallard Park (2901
Point Mallard Drive). Registration includes 16 men’s teams, 8 women’s teams,
and 12 coed teams. The event is open to the public with free admission.

While this is the Southeast Regionals first appearance in Decatur, the
Jack Allen Recreation Complex has hosted other Ultimate Frisbee competitions.
In July, approximately thirty teams were in Decatur for the annual Huckfest, a
two-day tournament also hosted by the Huntsville Ultimate Club. The tournament
filled 61 room nights and generated an economic impact of over $32,000 for the
city of Decatur.

Referred to as “ultimate”, the sport is played by two seven-player
squads with a plastic disc with the object of the game to score by catching a
pass in the opponent’s end zone. A player is not allowed to run while in
possession of the disc, but can pivot and pass to any of the other receivers on
the field. Ultimate is a transition game in which
players move quickly from offense to defense on turnovers that occur with a
dropped pass, an interception, a pass out of bounds, or when a player is caught
holding the disc for more than ten seconds. Ultimate is governed by Spirit of
the Game™, a tradition of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair
play on the players rather than referees. Ultimate is played in more than 80
countries by an estimated 7 million of men and women, girls and boys. For more information, visit www.usaultimate.org.